The North is in danger of breeding a generation of children who will die before their parents do, a new Government health czar has warned.

Unhealthy lifestyles are now the biggest threat to health with spiraling rates of obesity, heart disease and diabetes placing an unsustainable strain on health services.

And the situation is worst in the North. The health divide with the affluent South continues to widen as the amount spent treating acutely ill patients in the region leaves too little for prevention - sparking a vicious circle of ill-health, it was claimed yesterday.

The warning came from Professor Chris Drinkwater, of the University of Northumbria, who is now heading up a Government task force to improve public health.

Politicians and experts in the North last night called for more investment in education and community health schemes in the North to plug the gap and safeguard the health of future generations.

Prof Drinkwater was appointed by Health Secretary, John Reid, last week as head of one of eight task forces to find new ways of transforming the NHS from being "primarily a sickness service, and make it a true health service".

Yesterday Prof Drinkwater, whose group will look at GPs and community health services, told The Journal that most of today's medical problems are diseases of lifestyle which can be prevented.

He said: "Heart disease and diabetes which are linked to lack of activity, poor diet, smoking and obesity is overtaking smoking as the main health concern.

"In the North-East we have the worst health problems in the country in terms of heart disease and diabetes and the problems in this region seem to be increasing at a greater rate than in other parts of the country. And the gap seems to be getting wider rather than narrower."

And he warned that the consequences of failing to take urgent action were stark.

Life expectancy in the North already lags behind the national average standing at 74.5 years for men compared to the UK average of 76, and 79.3 years for women against 80.6. If nothing is done these levels could fall still further.

He said: "The worry in terms of where we are heading is that we will see a generation of children who don't outlive their parents.

"Children today compared to children 20 years ago take less exercise, eat more fast food and are increasingly likely to have weight problems.

"If we don't act now more people will suffer heart disease, more people will suffer diabetes and obesity. The increased costs that will bring to the NHS will cause major problems in the long-term."

Prof Drinkwater said GPs and community health services could play a greater role in identifying people at risk of heart disease and diabetes and helping them make lifestyle changes.

But he acknowledged this was all too often ruled out by pressures on overstretched GP services.

He said: "It is a vicious circle. In the North people are sicker so we have greater demand on GP services, so there's less time to spend on prevention so people get sicker.

"But I think there is a recognition in Government that more money needs to be invested in prevention."

Dr Bill Kirkup, Regional Director of Public Health, said more investment needed to be channelled into the region to redress the North-South health divide.

He said: "There are a lot of really good initiatives that are making a difference to communities. But we need to be doing more in the North-East than the rest of the country because of the extent of the problems we have here.

"The difficulty we have is that while we get more money for the health service in the North-East, most of that is taken up treating patients who are acutely ill and that doesn't leave enough over for prevention and health promotion.

"What that means is we are pedaling harder and not getting any further forward."

His comments were backed by Doug Henderson, MP for Newcastle North, who called for a review of spending on health education.

He said: "What is needed is an effective health education to make sure we get across the key messages about stopping smoking, drinking in moderation, eating healthily and taking exercise.

"We need to know how much is currently being spent on health education and more funds need to be made available."

The link between social deprivation and disease is blamed for creating a health divide between rich and poor.

Mr Henderson said: "The deterioration in the North started in the 80s when unemployment struck and people lost confidence and the desire to aspire to improve themselves.

"A lot of the bad habits that are now taking their toll in the region began then and it is time we broke that pattern."

A Department of Health spokeswoman defended the Government's spending on the NHS, but refused to comment on levels of spending or regional gaps.

She said plans announced in the budget would see expenditure on the NHS rise by 7.3pc a year over inflation.

She said: "Expenditure on the NHS under this administration will have doubled in real terms by 2007/08."

Health experts in the North last night called on the Government to do more to educate young people about sex after claims its sexual health policy had backfired.

Measures aimed at cutting teenage pregnancy and sexual disease among teenagers such as making condoms more widely available, have had the opposite effect, according to a study published yesterday.

The report, by Professor David Paton, of Nottingham University's business school, claimed that increased access to contraception has led to a higher pregnancy rate among the under-18s,

The report, based on research carried out between 1998 and 2001, claims that areas with the biggest increases in family planning sessions since 1999 have experienced the largest rises in sexually transmitted infections (STIs).

It also reveals that areas where free morning-after pills have been made available have seen no reduction in teenage pregnancy rates, but an increase in the cases of STIs.

Prof Chris Drinkwater, of Newcastle University, said: "There is no magic solution to this problem. It is clearly not enough to simply provide more contraception without education about sexual behaviour.

There needs to be a more discussion with young people themselves about their attitudes to sexual behaviour, the pressures they are under and the choices they are faced with. "

But other health professionals in the region cast doubt on the report's findings, claiming initiatives such as providing free condoms to youngsters through community centres had resulted in falling rates of teenage pregnancy.

Marietta Evans, of Sunderland Teaching Primary Care Trust, said: "There are lots of reasons why young women choose to have babies at a young age that have nothing to do with family planning policy."

She pointed out that in Sunderland rates of teenage pregnancy have fallen from 63 in 1,000 in 1998 to 54 in 1,000 in 2001.

She admitted there had been a rise in STIs across the region's teenage population but said it was wrong to blame improved access to contraception.

She said: "There are more young people presenting themselves for treatment but it may be because we have worked hard at creating greater awareness of the problem."

Health Secretary, John Reid, has set up eight task forces to find ways to turn the NHS from "primarily a sickness services" to a true health service.

They will look at ways of tackling issues such as obesity, smoking and sexually transmitted infections and are due to report to the Department of Health in May.

Their recommendations will help shape a government White Paper on improving the nation's health to be published in the summer.

The move followed a report on the state of the region's health by Tyneside-born Derek Wanless, published in February.

He warned that despite a spate of Government initiatives a hard core of people were failing to get the public health message on issues like smoking, drinking and obesity.

The problems are most acute in the North-East where 29pc of men and 20pc of women are considered obese.

John Reid said: "Improving people's health is a priority for the Government, but it is not an issue for Government alone. Successful action now to safeguard health will help us move the NHS on from being primarily a sickness service, and make it a true health service."

Professor Chris Drinkwater CBE, FRCGP, FFPH is the head of the Primary Care Development Centre at Northumbria University.

His understanding of health problems in the city has been built up over 20 years as an inner city GP in the West End of Newcastle.

He started as a single handed GP with over 4,000 patients working out of a crumbling Tyneside flat and ending up in a training practice with four partners based at the West End Health Resource Centre.

He remains a board member and company secretary for the Resource Centre.

As chair of the Health Works Newcastle Coordinating Group, he runs a New Opportunities Fund Programme which delivers #2million worth of healthy living activities across areas of social disadvantage in Newcastle.

He is also a member of the Newcastle Health Partnership and chairs the Newcastle Westgate New Deal for Communities health theme group.

He is also a member of the North-East Sports Board where he is responsible for the health portfolio with a remit to promote physical activity.

Overweight Britons were urged to take action to get fitter yesterday after a poll revealed most were unaware of the bigger risks they face from cancer.

A poll carried out for Cancer Research UK found that only 3pc of people knew that being overweight made you more likely to develop the disease compared to people of a normal weight.

The charity said action was needed to get the message across to people that excess fat was not harmless "extra padding" but "metabolically active tissue" which increased the cancer risk.

The survey found that while 70pc of people were aware of the link between obesity and heart disease and 16pc knew of the increased risk of diabetes, only a handful knew about the danger of cancer.

CRUK said about 5pc of all cancer cases in women - around 6,800 a year - and 3pc in men - 4,000 cases - in the UK could be avoided if people stayed at a normal weight.

In England around 47pc of men and 33pc of women are overweight and around a fifth are obese. In the US, where there is an even greater problem with obesity, around a third of cancer deaths are linked with weight.

Experts believe the UK is 10 years behind America in terms of the obesity epidemic.

The poll of 1,000 people by NOP was revealed as CRUK launched its Race For Life, sponsored by Tesco, which aims to raise #20 million for cancer research.

An estimated 325,000 women are expected to run, jog or walk 5km in a number of events - many in the North - during May, June and July as part of the campaign.